“Some of these suits you see, you wear them once and they lose their shape and you throw them away. We call them throwaways in the business,” he said. “And I’ve always tried to surround myself with the best people I could find because they represent the store.”

And his philosophy has never changed. Now 74, he stills puts in 50-hour work weeks and has no plans to retire.

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Englund opened his first men’s clothing store in October 1964. He was 23 years old then, married just a year and working as a salesman in Paoli when one of his regular customers, Al Kircher, asked him if he would like to open his own business in Kircher’s new shopping center in Malvern.

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“I said to him, I don’t have any money,” Englund recalled. “He said, ‘Don’t worry about the money; I’ll back you.’ But back then you could get credit for 30 or 90 days, and I didn’t have to borrow any money from him.”

Inspired to strike out on his own by Kircher, Englund used $5,000 he had saved, which 50 years ago was enough to get his venture started, and he economized somewhat to get going. For example, his brother-in-law helped him put up the wood paneling that is still hanging on his store’s walls.

“At the time I was just married and I was thinking of being a teacher and going to West Chester State College,” Englund recalled. “But anyway, I took the opportunity and came up to Malvern and opened this store in 1964.”

His store was smaller then, only 20 by 40, and so was the Malvern business district.

“My wife and I, when we came into town, they were riding horses down the street here, and we were wondering: Why are we opening up a store in Malvern? And I said, well, I think it’s a good area. And I knew the owner of the center, and it worked out really good for me.”

He’s also opened other stores over the years. Englund’s has operated men’s stores in Wayne’s Gateway Shopping Center, in West Chester’s Parkway Center for 30 years, in Chesterbrook, in Exton’s Colonial 100 Shopping Center and in Delaware.

“Most of those fellas who were in those stores have retired,” Englund said. “I’m the last of the Mohicans.”

Had Kirchner not provided the inspiration, Englund said, he would likely have been a gym teacher somewhere, building on his love of athletics instead. He still loves to play tennis and golf, and he played on the 1957 West Chester Henderson Ches-Mont championship basketball team. Nearly everyone in his family plays tennis, and his grandson is a pro.

After about four years in business, Englund doubled the size of the men’s store and added a tailoring shop downstairs. His current custom-fitter and sales manager, Dave Phillips, has been with him 38 years. His tailor, Bill Arcaro, has been there seven years. Kevin Nichols, a salesman, started recently, and his granddaughter, Katie Englund, works part time at the store. John Bittle, another part-time employee, is the former manager of the Parkway Center store.

Also helping at the store occasionally is Frank Englund III, who’s regular occupation is real estate, and his son, Frank IV, 22, is attending college.

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Englund grew up and went to school in West Chester. His grandfather ran West Chester restaurant and ice cream store A.O. Englund and Son in the 1800s along High Street. His dad, Frank Sr., worked for Schrafft’s candy company in Philadelphia and died tragically in a car crash while commuting between the city and West Chester when Frank Jr. was 2 years old. His mother raised the children: Frank Jr., who was the youngest; his brother, Bob; and his sisters, Marie and Jeanne.

Frank Jr. and Anne, his wife of 51 years, raised three children of their own, Lisa, Frank III and Meghan, and they raised a Vietnamese ward, Tang Vu, under an arrangement with their church.

“He and his brother came over from Vietnam, and the church asked if we could keep him for a week and it ended up he stayed with us for years,” Englund said. “He’s married now and has two children. He went through college and graduated. He’s now a pharmacist.”

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Some of the customers at Englund’s store are now the children and grandchildren of customers. Most are 30 to 50 years old, executives who want to look the part and be sharp, and some his customers are in their 70s, Englund said.

“Most of the customers are corporate men, though now that’s changed a little bit,” he said. “The newer guys coming in, they want to dress up. And we try to put them in the better merchandise.”

His customers over the years included Alan Ameche, the Baltimore Colt running back who scored in overtime to defeat the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL championship; David Eisenhower, grandson President Dwight D. Eisenhower and son-in-law of President Richard Nixon; 1946 Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Woodward Davis; and famed trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey, whose clients included O. J. Simpson and Sam Sheppard.

His store has been a 50-year patron of Little League Baseball teams in Chester Valley and Paoli, as well as Paoli American Legion and Babe Ruth teams, and West Chester Adult League teams for 37 years.

Englund himself is a five-time singles and 11-time doubles tennis champion at Whitford Country Club, where he still plays when his knees permit it. He teamed with Mike Simonetti on the senior circuit, winning the Philadelphia and Middle States 55 doubles in 2004 and the Middle States doubles in 2005. He and partner Trevor Weiss won the Middle States 60 doubles in 2007, 2009 and 2010. And he founded the Main Line Tennis Tournament in 1979 for ranked and unranked players in Pennsylvania.

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Englund says the current trend in men’s fashions is a preppy look, with brighter, more festive colors.

“They’re getting brighter — shirts and slacks,” he said. “It seems like every five years something changes. We tell everyone, save your suits because they’ll probably come back around.”

And he said people still want the custom-tailored suits that fit great and look great. And a suit like that can’t be bought online.

But the merchandise is only a part of his formula for success and longevity in business, he said. “Being honest about everything in the store, people appreciate that,” Englund said. “Give them a good product with honest pricing.”

If he had the chance to do it over again, he said, he might have started out in West Chester instead of Malvern. But back then, the competition for men’s clothing there was greater.

For anyone thinking about going into this business today, Englund has some words of encouragement.

“If you like it, go for it, and go for it in a big way. If you hesitate, somebody else is going to beat you out of it,” he said. “If you decide to be in the men’s business, the women’s business, any business, go for it. Put all your heart into it, put the hours into it and I think you’ll make out fine.

“There’s ups and downs in any business, and we’ve had our tough times. But it comes back.”